Transcription
Real Madrid is currently sitting second in the Champions League standings. The teams that finish in the top four will play the round of 16 and the quarterfinals at home. And the teams that finish in the top two will play the quarterfinals, the round of 16 and the semi-finals at home. Real Madrid is in a very good position to make it far in the Champions League if they continue to play like this.
Today we saw not only a spectacular performance by Venius who today had two assists and a goal, but Arduller was also crucial in this match. He completed 85% of his chances, created three key chances for Real Madrid, but he also had 10 ball recoveries. Overall, the team played very well with notable performances by Venius, Artigular, Killian Mbappé, Jude Bellingham. Many people will say that Monaco is not one of the more elite sides in Europe, but let's not forget Monaco is the same side that beat Barcelona 2-1 not too long ago.
When we dive into this match and look at how Arbaloa set up the game, one of the things that Arbaloa talked about is the need for the players to be in motion when they're out of possession. And that's something that we saw in this game. Out of possession, Real Madrid played in a 442 formation, but in possession, they played with a 4-3-3 with Chu being the pivot player and Jude Bellingham and Artigular being the creative two players in the midfield. But the roles that Artigular and Jude Bellingham had were very different. At times, Artigular would drop deep, sometimes even playing at the right back spot to initiate the ball progression out of the back. Whereas Jude Bellingham was playing in a more advanced role, sometimes even crashing the box. And Real Madrid's goal comes from Jude Bellingham making the run that drags the defenders out of position, which ultimately led to Real Madrid's goal. So today's Real Madrid midfield looked a lot more balanced.
And after the game, Arbaloa said that tactics are important. Yes, but Real Madrid is about locking in mentally and sacrificing collectively. Today, you did see the team work as a unit with the players creating chances on both sides. Unlike most games we're used to seeing where Real Madrid is so heavily dependent on that left hand side, in this game we saw Real Madrid create more chances on the right hand side with Artigular, Feder Rico Valvverde and Franco Masantono combining oftent times on that right side which provided Real Madrid with a lot more balance in this game. And the other notable difference was in possession we saw Real Madrid form a double pivot at times with Eduardo Kamovinga when Feder Rico Valverde would move out to the right side and other times it would be Feder Rico Valverde who' formed the double pivot with Chumeni with Kamovinga moving all the way out to the left hand side. Typically we're used to seeing either Art Guler or Jude Bellingham tucking in to create that double pivot. But what Arbaloa wanted from Artigular and Jude Bellingham was not to occupy that space, but rather to have the fullbacks do that. But Real Madrid still played with a lot of width with Franco Monosono and Venicius hugging the touch line. But when Real Madrid would be in possession and feed the ball out to their wingers, Franco Masonono would make the runs in the inside dragging his defender creating that space in behind and Venius would operate similarly but he would play more down that left hand side unlike Franco Mono because it's Venius's instinct to make those playmaking chances down that left hand side.
When Real Madrid takes the lead in this match and they're ahead in the match, Monaco was trying to play on the front foot, trying to press Real Madrid high high up the field and that created a lot of chances for Real Madrid in transition, which was what made this game very suitable for Real Madrid because if they go ahead in a match, especially early on, and you're having to initiate the chance creation, that creates a lot of chances for players like Kian Mbappé and Venius. And given the fact that Real Madrid's midfielders Eduardo Kamovinga and Feder Rico Valvverde were playing as fullbacks when they would form the double pivot, they can contribute both in progressing the ball but also they can contribute defensively. These are very serviceable fullbacks, especially against sides like this where you can play Eduardo Kamovinga who can use his ball carrying to break lines and so can Federico Valvverde because they both have that in their locker. What we're seeing from Arbaloa is a bit of a change from Shabi Alonzo. Shabi Alonzo liked his team to go into a back three in possession. We didn't really see that. What we saw in Arbaloa side today was that double pivot by the fullbacks.
The first half was a lot more competitive than the second half. Real Madrid in the in the first half was able to play on the front foot, pressuring the ball high, winning it in Monaco's half, not giving them a lot of opportunities to have the ball in Real Madrid's half. But the same issues that Real Madrid suffered with still exist. Real Madrid from set pieces still struggle. Every time they would have a corner, Monaco, Real Madrid would struggle to defend those corner kicks. And right outside of Real Madrid's box, Monaco was still able to create chances in those zones. So, Real Madrid still needs to improve in those areas. There are reports that Real Madrid has replaced their setpiece coach. The truth of the matter is Real Madrid needs to improve in the way they defend corner kicks because over the last two seasons it has been subpar and far from good. And the defending although Real Madrid concedes a goal by a silly mistake by Danny Sios there were still moments in this game where Monaco created chances and at times it looked like an elite side would have done a lot better.
But when talking about this game, you have to say that if Real Madrid had some of their key players back like Antonio Rutiger, Eder Militau, Alexander Arnold, undoubtedly there would be a huge improvement because Trent can not only play those long balls and provide you with a little bit more creativity, especially in transition, but Eder Militau and Antonio Rutiger are your two best defenders. Today, we saw Dean Hson misplay some of his long passes, which is supposed to be one of his biggest strengths, but he looked a little bit more comfortable. He carried the ball out of the back a few times and hopefully this is a step in the right direction in building his confidence because he looks like a player shot of confidence right now. Although Rahul Asencio had a good first half when we saw Danny Sios come in, Danny Sobios provides a little bit more of that conventional playmaking out of the back, but he lacks a little bit of quality to be a Real Madrid quality midfielder. Against weaker opposition, Danny Sios makes sense where he's not being pressured constantly by the opposition. So, it made sense to play him in this context, but he's certainly not suitable against some of the more elite sides in Europe.
Today, we saw Killian Mbappé score two goals early in the game, and he had a chance at the very end of the match to score his hat-tick, and he was unlucky not to do that today. But when you consider the 18-year-old who played out Monaco and some people in the press said when he joined Real Madrid that his best days are behind him, but to see the kind of player he has evolved into today. Not just as a player, but as a leader in the squad, backing Venicius and showing him affection and love. He's not only leading Real Madrid to success on the field, but he is one of the true leaders for Real Madrid off the field as well. The players look at Killian as an example. Not only is he the best football player on the planet right now, hands down, no question, but the truth is Killian Abbapp is a lot more to this team than just the best player. And to see the way he is pressuring the ball from those goal kicks, he is truly setting the example for the rest of the group. This is a huge step forward for Venius today. To see him score two goals and come up with an assist, this should fill him up with a lot of confidence to believe in himself going forward.
What I've noticed by Arbaloa so far is that he seems like he's a very good man manager. Maybe he may not be the most tactically astute, certainly not at the level of Ashabi Alonzo, but if he can keep the squad happy, and if he can get them to work together and sacrifice for one another, then Real Madrid is moving in the right direction. It's clear this team needs more management than tactical nuance. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this team doesn't need to be more tactically organized. Of course, they do. because in many ways we still fall behind some of the more elite teams in Europe, but we're certainly in the top five, top six. No question about that, even today. And at times we've fallen short because some of our players haven't put in the extra effort and that's all that's required of this team is that extra effort that we saw today. But for us to be in the top four, we can certainly be in the top two when all things are done. PSG lost today, Manchester City lost today. There's really no reason Real Madrid cannot finish second. and ultimately have this round of 16 quarterfinals and semi-finals being played at the Bera Bao should we make it there. If you guys are new here, make sure to like, subscribe. Until the next one, thank you for watching and halal Madrid.